Bolton bracing for heat following success

Daniel Lane

SYDNEY SWANS veteran Jude Bolton said "raising the bar" had become his team's catch cry during their torturous off-season training sessions as the Bloods worked to somehow improve on a season crowned by a grand final victory.

Bolton led his team to a tense 10-point victory over the more-fancied Hawthorn in a see-sawing battle that not only buried the Swans' supposed MCG hoodoo forever but also established them as the team to beat next year - a point Bolton said history proved to be the case.

Along with Adam Goodes, Lewis Roberts-Thomson and Ryan O'Keefe the now 32-year-old - and veteran of 301 AFL games - was one of the four survivors from the Swans' outfit that won the 2005 flag. However, as the squad prepared to break for Christmas he warned the experiences of 2006 dictated the heat would be on from the moment their season kicked off against the GWS Giants on March 30.

"Improvement, it's all about constant improvement for us," Bolton told Fairfax Media. "We've certainly looked to the coaches and the recruiting staff to do their stuff, and they have. We're excited with the list we go into with this season.

"It's about stepping up in terms of our game plan and workload, and we all know it's going to be tough because every team comes out with a point to prove against the premiers. But, as I say, we're all about improvement here and we all know we have a lot of work to do … but, we're definitely all looking forward to the challenge"

Bolton, a one-team player, resumed pre-season training in December by bettering his personal best for the 3km time trial. That effort also proved his left knee had overcome partially torn ligaments without surgery.